In Japan there are three legal ways in which a spouse can get divorced: through negotiation or mutual consent (kyōgi rikon), mediation (chōtei rikon), and adjudication or litigation (saiban rikon)....Show moreIn Japan there are three legal ways in which a spouse can get divorced: through negotiation or mutual consent (kyōgi rikon), mediation (chōtei rikon), and adjudication or litigation (saiban rikon). Those opting for litigation consist of a mere 1% of all cases. While it has been argued that Japanese are averse to formal litigation and have a cultural preference for informal ways of resolving disputes in order to maintain the social harmony, others have attributed the popularity of ADR to institutional and structural factors, being cheaper and quicker than formal litigation. This thesis attempts to find out what theory, if any, holds true with regards to (the lack of) Japanese litigiousness by looking at divorce mediation as its case study.Show less